I thought Audi paint was hard

RAG · 08-08-06, 08:57

I thought Audi paint was supposed to be hard. I detailed member's (Autopia) A4 today and I can say with confidence that the paint was not hard. In fact, it was soft. The clay procedure induced more marring than normal (and there wasn't much rust), immediately contradicting the "hard Audi paint" notion. Confirming this was the fact that when I even PO85RD and an ultra soft propel via PC had a hard time finishing down without leaving noticable gashing, resulting in a slight haze; as a result, to have a proper finish I had finish down with the rotary which proved to be a tall task. Twas soft.

joyriide1113 · 08-08-06, 09:11

PC is finicky. I could be wrong but I thought the Menzerna PO polishes were meant for rotory use... I think since you're suing it with the PC, you just have to work it longer more than anything..

Paints are very different.. So they react diff.

Picus · 08-08-06, 09:15

What year was the A4? Any repaint?

Just wondering. My experience with Audi paint is that it's been very hard.

RAG · 08-08-06, 09:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by Picus

What year was the A4? Any repaint?

Just wondering. My experience with Audi paint is that it's been very hard.

It's exactly one year old. Nope...ETG gave consistent readings throughout.

But you're right...I only have one other client with an Audi (blue) and it always seemed hard.

RAG · 08-08-06, 09:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by joyriide1113

PC is finicky. I could be wrong but I thought the Menzerna PO polishes were meant for rotory use... I think since you're suing it with the PC, you just have to work it longer more than anything..

Paints are very different.. So they react diff.

I don't think so. Either way, I have PO85RD, RE5, and 106FF and they all finish down (with a PC) better than any polish I've tried (and I've tried many). The primary reason I use these expensive polishes is for use on black paint, especially soft black paint. So that's why I was astonished by my findings today.

Possibly your right about working it longer...but I was aready making three slow passes, and I've never had to work it longe than this before. Any more, and I would have been there all day - oh wait, I was there all day

Accumulator · 08-09-06, 09:24

There seems to be some real variation in the hardness of A4/S4 clearcoats. Mike Phillips did a S4 (factory paint) a while back that micromarred with anything harsher than #66, yet Bill D.'s clear is very hard

The paint on *my* Audis was/is very hard, but I only had one A4, an early one.

joyriiide1113 · 08-09-06, 09:44

Was it a hot day? I'm hoping that temperature, humidy, climate, has a lot to do with the slight difference we all get in products, other than the factory clearcoats.

awahl63 · 08-09-06, 11:05

Odd...my A4 has super hard clear but it's 6 years old

Scottwax · 08-09-06, 03:31

Was it black? I did a black Audi TT last fall and it seemed as finicky to polish out as black G35s and Porsche Cayennes-tough to remove swirls but very prone to marring and hazing all at the same time.

Picus · 08-09-06, 04:51

I wonder if the factory the car was made in has any effect on it. I've done, hrm, like maybe 6 Audi's this summer and all have been hard, the black ones included (although the black ones were an S4 and an allroad). None were older than '02. That said a girl in my building always complained that her TT (gunmetal grey) scratched very easily.

NickMach1 · 08-09-06, 05:34

Another thing I can chime in here after working in the Aftermarket Performance business for awhile is that in the world of mass production there can be lots of variances... When everything is being pushed out so fast there are bound to be some that are just the outcasts of the bunch.

01bluecls · 08-09-06, 07:49

I just had this with the BMW 330 I did last Friday....ANY combo of polishes and pads via PC wouldnt remove and left hazing/micro marring. Almost gave up but found FPII via rotary cleared it up. I guess with some weird coats, PC seems to "jiggle" too much for that particular clear? Dont know...